Fading
by Snow Blossom-95
Summary: Being a shadow or second best is always painful. However, as long as you could stay by his side, everything's gonna be alright..., right..? "Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong- sometimes it's letting go. Cuz letting go doesn't mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be."- Anonymous
1. Letting Go

A/N: This story sets somewhere in episode 126, where I start to make the variations. Sorry, the first chapter is pretty much what happened in chapter 126.. I just wanna make a clear background.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 1. Letting go

...

"Won't you actually quite pleased? The woman who came between you was gone. But the moment Inuyasha heard Kikyo was alive, he went after her again. Whether she's dead or alive, Inuyasha's heart belongs to Kikyo."

"Inuyasha has chosen Kikyo,, not you."

Holding the baby in her arms, Kagome began to contemplate his words. As much as she hates to admit it, she knew the baby was right. Inuyasha would never forget about Kikyo, and seeing him like these while she was deeply in love with him… is only going to give her more heartaches.

"Don't you feel bitter towards Inuyasha? Don't you hate Kikyo?"

Seeing Kagura held a corrupted jewel shard, a sudden realization hits Kagome. 'This… He's trying to manipulate me! They wanted to use my feelings to control me… against Inuyasha. No no. This can't be happening...'

Kagome closed her eyes, and in a flash, memories of Inuyasha and Kikyo replayed in her mind. Inuyasha and Kikyo, hugging. Inuyasha and Kikyo, kissing. Inuyasha and Kikyo, loving each other. That longing looks Inuyasha had in his eyes everytime they had an encounter…

_Whether she's dead or alive, Inuyasha's heart belongs to Kikyo._

_Inuyasha's heart belong to Kikyo… Belong to Kikyo.._

"He's right," Kagome admitted inwardly, "No matter how long I stay by his side, no matter how bad I wanted to be with him… Still. I am not the woman who holds his heart. And I would never be…" slowly, she opened her eyes. "You're right… But I just… I just can't hate them. Inuyasha and Kikyo share a bond that can never be broken… There is no room for me. And that's why," she paused and took a deep breath, "I'm letting go."

"What?" The baby narrowed his eyes. "I'm letting go of Inuyasha… Meanings that I would not chase after him anymore."

'After all,' she added to herself, 'I'm all hopeless.'

"You… wench. What tricks are you going to play on us?" Kagura scolded.

"KAGOME!" a loud crash was heard as Inuyasha destroy the hut they were in.

Everything started to become blurry for Kagome as she looked up to her savior. "Inuyasha…" she managed to murmur weakly as she began to collapse and threw the baby away. Swiftly, Inuyasha catch her before she hits the ground. "Kagome!"

"You… What did you do to Kagome?" He demanded angrily.

"Ck. What a bad timing. I think it's time for us to leave Kagura." The baby said. With that said, Kagura took out her feather and lifted herself up with the baby to the sky.

"Hey, I'm not done with you two! Wind scar!" The attack completely blew the hut and destroyed it to pieces, but Kagura and the baby managed to get away.

"Hear me now Inuyasha," the baby began, "We might not be able to corrupt Kagome right now. But you must not be happy yet… After all," he paused, "Next time, I think it would become _easier_ for us to do _whatever _we want to the girl."

"Just what do you mean by that?!" Inuyasha demanded. But the two Naraku's incarnations were nowhere in sight any longer. Inuyasha looked up to the girl in his arms. 'Kagome...'

The next morning, Inuyasha was waiting patiently beside Kagome who's resting inside Kaede's hut. Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes.

"Kagome. You're awake?" came the voice of a concerned Inu-hanyou. "Uhh…" said girl looked up to the owner of the voice. "I see," she smiled. "So you did came for me after all."

'Thank goodness,' she thought to herself. 'At the very least, I'm still mattered to him after all. Even if… it might be the same way as he cared for Sango… or,' She paused to stare at his face. 'His _jewel detector_' she added dejectedly.

After they've been outside, Inuyasha began to apologize.

"It's okay," the miko said gently, "You came for me. That's enough."

"No, Kagome I left you alone!" The hanyou argued heatedly. "You could've-"

"No Inuyasha, listen to me," Kagome said firmly, but the voice still held the same gentleness as before. "You…You couldn't help it. You were looking for Kikyo," At this being mentioned, Inuyasha began to shift with uneasiness, "But that's okay. _None of that mattered_ anyway." She finished.

Inuyasha flinched a bit. 'What does she mean? I thought she was going to-'

"Inuyasha," Hearing his named being called, the hanyou broke his train of thoughts. "I've been thinking, I think… No. I _know _I've been treating you unfairly," she paused to throw her stare to him. "All this time, I've been acting like a spoiled child, wanting to keep something that's not hers, and getting angry to you for no apparent reason," At this, Inuyasha grew even more confused. "But," the miko took a deep breath and continue, "I promise… If you ever going to go and try to find Kikyo again, or if you somehow manage to find her alive… I will let you off with relief."

Inuyasha's golden eyes opened wide as they met Kagome's brown ones, as he stared into them, as if he was trying to find the hidden meanings in her words. "Kagome…" he murmured slowly.

Seeing the sudden change in Inuyasha's expression, Kagome tried to get back to her cheery self as she stood up and smiled. "Now let's get back to the others, I think they've been looking for us! And, Inuyasha?" said Hanyou looked up to the girl, "And when promised to be by your side always… Trust me. I won't break that one." 'Even if it is not _by your side_ the way I wanted.' She added to herself. With that, Kagome walked up to the village.

'Kagome…' Inuyasha thought. 'I should be happy that she promised she wouldn't leave me. But why do I feel this sudden uneasiness?'

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: I might be able to update chapter 2 today… that's it, if I got at least one review for my first work. As I said before.. this chapter would be mostly about chapter 126! Sorry for my grammar if I made so much mistakes.. English is not my first language, but I promise to try my best…

C ya later!


	2. Giving Him a Chance?

A/N: Here's chapter 2 as I promised… Thank you guys for all the reviews, I totally appreciate 'em!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 2. Give him a chance?

...

"Bye everyone! I'll be back as soon as I finished my exam. So I guess I'll be seeing you guys in the next two days?" announced the raven-haired school girl.

"Sure, take your time, Kagome."

"Take care and see you later Lady Kagome."

"Don't forget to bring me some candies, Kagome!"

Kagome smiled to her friends and hop into the well. The light began to engulf her until she completely disappeared from sights.

"I wonder where Inuyasha's at," Sango mused, "He's not here to try to stop Kagome like he did everytime."

"Ah. I believe that has something to do with the incidents we had recently, dear Sango," The monk answered, "And knowing how he is, he's probably going off sulking somewhere."

"That jerk," Shippo muttered angrily, "When will he ever learn to understand Kagome? I bet it's his fault that Kagome went home again! That stupid, arrogant, numbskull, no good-"

BONK

"And just who the hell is this stupid, arrogant, and numbskull people you're talking about?"

"I-Inuyasha!" the fox in question stuttered as a bump began to form on top of his head, "Sango help me!" He jumped to the demon slayer's arms.

"Keh. Look at you. I've only been gone for no more than an hour… and here you guys gossiping about me. Geez. What a friend I have." Inuyasha scoffed.

"Inuyasha, Lady Kagome had gone home, just before you got here." Miroku said, completely ignoring the sarcasm in the hanyou's words.

Upon hearing Kagome's name, Inuyasha's expression began to change. "I know." He answered simply as he stared down to the empty well. Unbeknownst by them, after the incident with Kagura and the creepy baby, he's never been really far from Kagome. And thanks to his demonic hearing, he could hear it pretty well from the roof of Kaede's hut when Kagome told the others that she's going home today to take some of her exams. But he knew that Kagome needed some time to herself. He could almost see it from her eyes after their last encounter…

**"_Really Inuyasha, it's ok. It's not like I'm going to go fight some demons alone or something," Kagome convinced the hanyou. She said that she couldn't sleep that night, and she wanted to bring some of her books from her home to study for the upcoming tests. Said something about being productive._**

**_ "But it's past midnight! You shouldn't-"_**

**_ "Inuyasha," Kagome stopped him mid sentence. Inuyasha began to feel uneasiness at her sudden change of tone. "Look. If this is about our last… unfortunate even, you, you could just drop it. I'm okay, and you don't need to worry so much. Unless," she paused, waiting for the hanyou's reactions. But when there's none, she sighed and continued as she stared to his golden eyes. "Unless… You're doing these out of guilt."_**

**_ "What?! Guilt? No, Kagome I-" _**

**_ "Save it Inuyasha," Said girl closed her eyes, before finally opening them again, revealing a pair of warm, beautiful, yet tired brown eyes, "You don't need to explain everything. I'm pretty sure I understand." Inuyasha was about to retort back when suddenly his eyes caught an expression he had never seen in Kagome's face before. 'Why does she looked so… distant and distraught?'_**

**_ And with that, Kagome left to her world, only to be back half an hour later, still looking dejected._**

"She needs to work on those tests of hers. And I think it's only fair to let her go." Inuyasha said lamely.

"And since when did you became so considerate Inuyasha?" asked Shippou as he popped out of Sango's arms.

"Oh shut up you runt. Wanna taste my fists again?" the hanyou cracked his knuckles.

"I was only asking!" the fox replied as he hid behing Sango's arms once again.

"Keh."

* * *

Meanwhile, five hundred years in the future, the troubled young miko was… let's just say studying her brains out.

"Urgh. At this rate, I'll never graduate high school!" She groaned as she throw another scratch paper to the bin, "I just haaate math!" She pushed her books away and lay on her arms on the table. "I think I need some time out…" And with that, she got up and left her room.

"Mom! I'm going out to the grocery. I'll be back soon!"

"Take care, dear."

* * *

'Going out alone is just lame…But I guess it can't be helped… Ayumi, Yuka and Eri must be studying right now, and besides,' She thought, 'I'm not really in the mood if they're going to talk about Inuyasha again. Like they did all the time.'

Being so caught up in her train of thoughts, Kagome didn't realize that she was about to bump to someone.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry- Kagome?"

Acknowledging the owner of the voice, Kagome simply called his name back. "Hojo, oh hi! I didn't think I would meet you here!"

Hojo smiled. "Neither did I. So did you recovered already from that _mad cockroach bite infection _of yours?"

Kagome blinked several times as she try to register Hojo's words. "Huh… I guess so. Heeh" she laughed half heartedly. 'Mad cockroach what? Oh God. What kind of sick jokes Gramps been telling to my friends this time?'

"I'm so glad to see you well Kagome. Have you prepared for the math test tomorrow?" Hojo asked innocently. Kagome smiled to herself as she saw his expression. 'It must be good to be as carefree as he is.'

"Actually, Hojo… I'm not really confident with this exam… I mean, you know how long I've been absent this month…" she bit her lip, "I'm not… sure I'll be able to do tomorrow's exam."

"Why not, Kagome? I know you're pretty smart. Sometimes we just need to try harder though… Practice makes perfect remember?" The schoolboy answered as he winked one of his eyes. At his words, Kagome felt a certain relief. "Thanks Hojo, I appreciate that."

"Uhm… you know Kagome, we're friends and, I was wondering if you maybe need my help to study? Or lend my notes perhaps? Considering how many times you missed the school… It must be pretty hard to keep up with the lessons." asked Hojo as he rubbed the hair on the back of his head.

"Really? You'd do that?" Kagome asked happily.

"Why of course!" Hojo answered.

"Oh my thank goodness! You really are the best!" Unconsciously, Kagome hugged him.

"Waaa! Kagome…?" the boy blushes madly.

"Huh?" Realizing the position they were in, Kagome's face began to turn as red as tomato as she quickly pulled away. "I'm so sorry Hojo!" She could tell that the people on the road had saw them, and if possible, she blushes even harder when an old lady mentioned something about "teenagers these days" and "public display of affections"

"Uhh.. That's okay, I'm just a bit surprised, that's all… Well then, why don't we get to your house before it's getting late?" Hojo managed to sounded calm, despite of his racing heart.

"Uhm… Okay," answered the girl, 'Well, this is awkward.'

* * *

About what seemed like eternity for Kagome, the studying session finally ended. Hojo was about to walk out of her house after he politely refused Kagome's mom offer to have dinner together, saying something about picking up his cousin at the train station before suddenly hearing his name being called.

"Yes Kagome?" he asked.

"About this day… Thank you. I don't think I can do it without your help. And, uhm. I really sorry about accidentally, err. Hugging you earlier." Kagome said nervously as she played with the hem of her shirt.

"It's no big deal. As I said before, you're actually pretty smart Kagome. You understand all the new materials quickly." The boy answered.

"Thanks, Hojo." Kagome smiled at him warmly. Hojo could feel his heart skip a bit.

"You know Kagome," he started, "I might not see you very often… Especially these days when you tend to get sick more frequently. Well I guess it can't be helped that your grandpa's prone to illnesses passed to you."

"Um… well.." 'He really is clueless, isn't he?' Kagome mused. What she didn't expect though, was Hojo's next question

"But, Kagome. Forgive me if I'm wrong… but does something's been bothering you today?"

"Eh?" She blinked.

"When I was first teaching you the new formulas, you just seemed to be in a great distraught and sometimes you would have this empty stare in your eyes. Tell me, Kagome. Are you… by any chance troubled with something?" Hojo asked as he looked to her eyes.

"It's nothing Hojo," Kagome answered as she mustered a smile, "I think I just got caught up with the exam, that's all."

"Are you serious?" asked Hojo concernedly. Kagome nodded. Hojo sighed before he continued. "Well then. I just want you to know… You… you can count on me too you know. I- I mean, you can tell me if you got any problems, and I'll try my best to help you. Just like what friends are for, right?"

Hearing this, Kagome somehow felt a deep relief. "Thank you. You are very kind, Hojo… I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"It's nothing, really. Well it's getting pretty late. I think I should get going. See you later tomorrow then?" the brown haired boy said with a smile.

"Alright. See you later Hojo! Be careful on your way!" Kagome waved him a good bye.

Kagome stared to the road as she saw Hojo's feature began to get smaller, smaller, until he's completely out of sight. She sighed. She remembered all the times when she turned Hojo down. Actually, sometimes she _did_ feel bad about it though. Considering he was only trying to be nice to her…

'Wouldn't it be nice if I got a caring boyfriend like him?'

Someone who wanted to understand her and try to make her happy.

Someone who's not afraid to told her what he's exactly feeling.

Someone who would only set his eyes on her.

Someone who would be by her side no matter what.

Someone who would not… choose another one over her?

She remembered all her friends saying about how she and Hojo would make a great couple.

'Can I,' she thought to herself. 'Can I give Hojo a chance?'

* * *

**End Chapter**


	3. The Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 3. The Decision

...

"I can't believe this! For the first time in my life, I got a B+ for my math exam!" exclaimed Kagome enthusiastically.

"Don't forget who you owe that to, Kagome!" Eri said as she winked one of her eyes.

"Woo. Who is it Eri? Must be Hojo, right?" added Yuka.

"You two must get together soon!" Ayumi grinned meaningfully.

Kagome sweat-dropped. "Eh-heh.."

Out of nowhere, said boy suddenly appeared before them.

"Kagome!" Hojo called cheerfully.

"Oh, Hojo. Hi!"

Her friends decided to stay 'out of the picture'. "Kagome, we forget that we need to help Kumiko Sensei today! See you later!" Eri said as she dragged the other two with her.

"See you!" answered Kagome, 'Well those three are as weird as always…'

She turned her attention back to Hojo, who was smilling at her happily.

"So, how's the exam yesterday?" Hojo asked.

"It's great Hojo! I got a B+ for the first time in my life! I really owe you big time for this, Hojo." answered Kagome happily.

"Good to see that I could help you… So, say Kagome, would you be free tomorrow?" asked Hojo.

Kagome fell silence for a while. She told her Sango, Miroku and Shippo that she'll be back by tomorrow, and they must've told that to Inuyasha by now…

"Well," she started, "I guess yeah."

Hojo grinned. "Great! I got two tickets to the fun park…. So I was wondering if you care to join me?"

Kagome contemplated his offer for a while. Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Sure. I'd like to."

* * *

The very same day in the Feudal era, Inuyasha was waiting impatiently beside the well as he tapped his feet countlessly. "Keh. The wench should've been back by now," he looked at the sun that had begun to set, "I wonder what she's doing though… does she- does she really mad at me?"

"Inuyasha, wouldn't it be better if you go to Lady Kagome's time and get her?" said Miroku. "And probably apologize." Murmured Sango.

Inuyasha's ears twitched. "What do you mean apologize, Sango? I ain't doing anything wrong!"

"Sure you are, Inuyasha…" said Sango uninterestedly.

'Kagome, did I… or is this because of… Kikyo?' Inuyasha thought to himself as he continued to stare at the well

* * *

"Kagome, look at me!"

"Hm?" Kagome managed to answer as she took a slurp from her ice cream.

"I'm Mr Old guy, young lady." Hojo mimicked an elder person's voice. His ice cream had sputtered on his face because he laughed uncontrollably when Kagome made a joke earlier. He had positioned the spilled ice cream over his mouth and below his chin to make mustaches and beard, also on his eyebrows that it made him looked like an old guy.

Kagome laughed at his poor joke attempt.

'_But he did that to make you happy, you know_.' Said her conscience.

'_Inuyasha didn't even have to try but he made you happy just by staying at his side._' Protested her other conscience.

'_But he hurts your feelings repeatedly, too_…' the other one didn't want to lose.

Kagome frowned. 'This is not the right time to think about that jerk.' She said to herself. "Hojo?" she asked.

"Yeah, Kagome?" the boy answered as he tried to wipe the ice cream off of his face.

"It's almost dark… should we get going?"

"Right! Let's go, I'll walk you home."

* * *

"Here we are, Kagome." Informed Hojo as they reached the Higurashi shrine.

Kagome smiled genuinely, "Thanks Hojo. I had so much fun today."

"You're most welcome, Kagome."

Then, the two of them said nothing. 'Well," Kagome thought, 'This is awkward.'

Meanwhile back in the feudal era, Sango was threatening Inuyasha with his hiraikotsu to go apologize to Kagome.

"Geez, I know I know! No need to be so grouchy, woman." Inuyasha snorted.

"Well go get her already! Lady Kagome's not the one to break promises, you know. Unless you made her really mad…" Miroku urged.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going!" 'Stupid monk, always blaming everything to me…'he thought as he headed to the well and hopped into it. He jumped out of the well and tried to sniff for Kagome.

"I guess, see you later Kagome." Hojo said, as he began to walk away.

Kagome forgot to thank him, "Wait, Hojo! Woa-" Unfortunately, she slipped her feet, just for Hojo to caught her in time. Their eyes locked with each other for a while before the young miko heard a low growl behind her.

"Inuyasha?" she asked in disbelief.

"What the heck are you doing here, Kagome? I thought you're going back yesterday… And who the hell is this wimpy guy?" He eyed Hojo accusingly. He was beyond pissed. 'So Kagome's not going back because she's going with some other guy.' For some reason, it hurts him to know that she would rather being with someone other than him.

Kagome bit her lips as she told Hojo to go home.

"But-Kagome…" argued Hojo.

"No, Hojo, please…? This guy here is my friend, too. He just got a bit of temper." Kagome pleaded.

Hojo sighed in disappointment. "Alright then." He walked away, not before grasping each of Kagome's hands in his own. Inuyasha's eyes widened at this.

When Hojo was nowhere in sight, Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha who had his eyes covered with his bangs.

"Inuyasha..?" she asked carefully.

"Is this some kind of revenge, Kagome?" he started slowly.

Kagome flinched. Was it sadness she heard in his voice?

"You know, Kagome. You shouldn't promise me you would stay by my side if you really can't bear with me. You could've said it right in front of my face, instead of **playing angel **in front of me and go sneak with other guy in your time." He spatted.

Kagome fell silence, as she began to tremble at his voice. But she gathered her courage to say back to him. "Tell me, Inuyasha. Why does it bother you so much that I'm going with Hojo?"

Inuyasha froze. "I-" he stammered, looking at the woman before him. "Stupid. It's not the one's bothering me! I was only pissed that you didn't came back yesterday as you promised!" It's not what he really wanted to say, but his pride got in the way. 'You moron.' He thought to himself. 'You just don't want her to be with some other guy…'

As Kagome's beautiful brown orbs met the hanyou's glowing golden one, she instantly knew what to do.

"Inuyasha. I'm not leaving you. I promised that and I swear I won't ever broke it, but," she paused as she took a deep breathe. She was about to make a **confession** that was not supposed to be **responded**. "But doesn't mean that I'll keep waiting for you like love sick puppy… nor will I love you anymore."

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? I decided to continue this one for a bit, while trying to find some ideas for my other story, _My Time for You_. Hope you enjoy it!

Amane~


	4. Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 4. Hurt

**...**

"But doesn't mean that I'll keep waiting for you like love sick puppy… nor will I love you anymore."

Inuyasha froze at the revelation of the futuristic girl.

He had long known that Kagome held some kind of affection to him. What else could explain the sadness a tint of jealousy that he could see in her eyes everytime he went to Kikyo?

But still… given so many chances, he kept hurting her. And now she's giving up on him. 'No,' he thought frantically, 'This is not the way things supposed to be!'

The hanyou took a step forward to the young Miko as he engulfed her in a tight embrace.

Kagome gasped, "Let me go, Inuyasha! What are you doing?" She struggled with no avail.

"No, Kagome, don't say that. Please… I- I love you!" he admitted.

Kagome stop her struggle, and just as Inuyasha sighed in relief and loosen up his embrace on her, the raven-haired girl pushed him around the chest, her bangs covered her eyes.

"Ka-gome..?" Began Inuyasha carefully.

"Liar…" She murmured, Inuyasha gulped at the coldness in her voice, "You're such a liar, Inuyasha."

"I'm not lying!" Inuyasha was all but calm. Here he is, proclaiming his love for her, and she just accused him of lying?

"You're lying, Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. As she raised her head, Inuyasha could see a few tears had rolled down from her beautiful brown eyes.

"If you truly love me, why would you go after Kikyo all the time?" Seeing no reaction from Inuyasha, Kagome decided to press on, "I might be Kikyo's reincarnation, Inuyasha. But I'm not her. So don't you dare go telling me you love me after you're sure that your favorite priestess had truly cease from this world! I'm not some kind of replacement, Inuyasha! I **wanted **to have someone who would **only** be there for me, not someone who chased after his DEAD girlfri-" She stopped abruptly. Seeing the way Inuyasha's eyes begin to harden, she knew that she had crossed the line. She didn't really mean it to came that way, though, but her emotion got her so caught up at that moment.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha kept gazing at the girl before him. His brain was processing each of the word she said before finally it clicked him. He gave out a low chuckle.

"Inuyasha..,?" Kagome asked carefully.

"So you finally revealed your true nature, eh Kagome?" he said darkly.

Kagome threw her stare to the ground, "What do you mean?"

"Since the beginning, you only wanted me to yourself. You despised it everytime I went to Kikyo. And now you wanted to get your revenge on me. Hell. You were probably very happy now that your little plan had worked perfectly, weren't you?" He couldn't help the mocking tone in his voice.

Kagome just kept silence, and Inuyasha continued on. "Well congratulations, Kagome. I never thought that you were capable of such things. But then again, I think I was wrong," he paused again as his eyes began to darken, "After all I had done for you, saving your asses countless times, now here you pay me by breaking my heart. I guess that can't be helped that you're such a selfish woman, hmm Kagome?"

Kagome flinched. That was not what she meant! "Inuyasha!"

"Save it Kagome," he growled dangerously, the darkness in his heart and the hatred he felt for humans because of his past memories began to arise. "Seriously, if I knew that you're going to give me so much trouble, I should've just **killed** you the first time we met."

However, Inuyasha instantly regretted what he said.

Kagome slumped to the ground, "Then do it Inuyasha." She said weakly,

"Kill me now. I don't mind. If that could make you feel better, so be it."

'Besides, you're killing me inwardly already.' She added to herself.

Inuyasha just stared at the young miko in front of him.

"You stupid woman!" He snapped, "Have you no brain? Asking me to kill you now?"

"I gave you so much trouble, right? You hated my guts, right?" Kagome cried, 'And I don't think I'll be able to live another day, knowing that you hated me…'

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "You…" He groaned. "Forget it, I give up on you, Kagome. I just don't know that to do with you any more." Inuyasha sighed in defeat as he began to make his way to the shrine.

"I'm going back. You're welcomed to stay here… or come with me," he said, "But one thing I can tell you. Things won't ever be the same."

'I know it Inuyasha,' Kagome thought as she hold back her tears, 'I know…'

* * *

Just like Inuyasha said, things began to change between them. Inuyasha spent most of his time alone in his favorite tree, while Kagome always try to avoid him. They began to talk less to the others too. It didn't took that long before their friends noticed this sudden change.

"Hey, Houshi-Sama," said the demon slayer carefully. She had made sure that Inuyasha was nowhere in sight and couldn't possibly hear her, and Kagome was sound asleep.

"Yes, Sango?" The monk answered.

"Don't you think… That there's something serious going on with Kagome and Inuyasha?" she asked.

Miroku seemed to be in a deep thought, "I believe so, Sango. Inuyasha and Kagome seemed… so much distant lately."

"Agreed Miroku!" said Shippo suddenly.

"Shippo? You're not asleep?" Miroku said in surprise.

"Shhh… keep your voice down!" whispered Sango.

"Kagome was being so unusually gloomy and quiet lately. And Inuyasha didn't even hit me for mocking him!" said the kitsune, "I wonder what happen with them."

"Me too, Shippo." Sighed Sango. "Whatever their problem is, I hope they could work it out…"

Miroku nodded in agreement. He knew that his two friends were hurting themselves inside…

* * *

It was an usual day in the feudal era, Miroku groped Sango, Sango hit Miroku, and Shippo kept nagging on Inuyasha. Only this time, Kagome didn't comment on Miroku's lecherous antics, nor did Inuyasha hit Shippo for bothering him. Suddenly, Inuyasha's ears perked as he started to sniff around.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku with a red hand mark on his right cheek.

"I smelt blood," he answered, "And there was a lot of it.  
"What? Where does it come from?" asked Sango quickly.

"There…" Inuyasha pointed to a small village.

* * *

When the group got there, they were very surprised at what they saw. Bodies of dead people was scattered everywhere. But what made them surprised even more is that the majority of those who were killed were young women… Kagome gasped as she saw the body of a dead woman, holding her dead baby.

"How cruel…" Sango muttered quietly.

"And who might be responsible for this?" Said Miroku as he inspected the wound in the corpse of a woman.

Inuyasha just kept silence.

As if on cue, an elder man suddenly ran to them.

"Help, help!" he cried.

"Keep calm, old man. What happened here? Who killed these people?" Inuyasha asked. He was very curious as to how only the women were killed.

"I don't know- I were going off to hunt with some other men… And when I got h-here, _that demon _was already here… Killing off the women and a few men that were trying to save them! God you must do something! They killed my daughter!" The man cried as he knelt before Inuyasha.

"Hey, get a grip already. Don't kneel in front of me!" Inuyasha was growing irritated. But still, he wondered what kind of demon might be responsible for this heartless slaughter.

"We'll try our best to find this demon, sir." Said Kagome assuring the poor man.

The old man was about to say his thanks to Kagome, but he gasped as he saw her face. "You- you heartless monster! Are not those innocent bloods you dropped enough already? Get away from this village, demon! Get away!"

The gank was confused with this man's sudden outburst.

"What? I'm not a demon!" Kagome managed to say. Why did this man calling her a demon?

"Hey! Kagome's not a demon you stupid old man!" Shippo defended Kagome.

"I think that there must be some kind of misunderstandings here…" said Miroku.

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: I wonder who might that demon be… Hmm.

Also, I haven't really decided which one to make a long series. This story or _My Time For You_?

Reviews are most welcome!

Amane~


	5. Portray of Bitterness

A/N: It's been a while since I last updated this story. Dunno, just feel like continuing my very first fic right now XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 5. Portray of Bitterness

...

A wicked grin was formed in the corner of the evil half demon lips as he stared to the magical mirror in front of him. All he could saw is another of his incarnations- heartlessly killing those worthless humans. But this incarnation was different from the others. Her cold brown eyes narrowed dangerously as she went from killing one to another, her thick raven hair waved freely as she dodge a man's sword and strike him dead with one slash from her sword. She was special. Naraku could've swore, she was the best demon he had ever created-out of desperation from a certain Miko.

"Enjoying yourself, Naraku?" came the sensual voice of the wind sorceress.

"Kagura… I must say that you did your last job very well, this one her," he touched the image of his new incarnation on the mirror, "could't ever exist without you. Ah. Such a beautiful creation out of poor desperation, sadness, and hatred…"

Kagura was not really interested with that new incarnation, but she figured she could ask something from him now…. "Then how about you give me my heart back, eh Naraku?"

Naraku threw his gaze to the red eyed demon in front of him and smirked. "Do you think that I was that easy, Kagura? You might play a big role in capturing Kagome's weak side… But still, that was still not a good reason why I should free you." He chuckled darkly, "That rejected feelings that she bear in her mind for so long without she even realize it, eventually come out of the surface with a bit of my help, and look. I've created a perfect monster… One that I'll be sure gonna finish Inuyasha."

Kagura rolled her eyes. "And why are you so confident about this Naraku? As fool as Inuyasha was, he would notice your scent on that new incarnation. And he wouldn't think twice to destroy her. I mean, he would realize that the real Kagome was not her."

"That's the point, Kagura…" answered Naraku, eyes still locked on Kanna's mirror. "This demon and Kagome are not a different person." At this, Kagura raised on of her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean, they are one?"

"Not really. You see Kagura, this demon was created from a part of Kagome. Just like Kikyou was resurrected from a part of Kagome. Do you think Kikyou and Kagome are the same person?"

Kagura shook her head.

Naraku grinned evilly, "That's the point. Kikyou and Kagome almost had no real physical relation whatsoever- besides the fact that they were reincarnations. Kagome will never feel Kikyo's physical or emotional pain, and neither is Kikyo. Their feelings, except the one for that halfbreed, are different."

"And…?" asked the wind sorceress.

"While Kagome and this incarnation of mine… Well. You can say that this demon is a portray of every bitterness that she had felt. Her human emotions, the growing desperation towards Inuyasha will make this demon stronger… And because she and the demon were bonded by this," he stopped as a sly smile curved on his lips, "This demon can't be defeated unless Kagome stopped feeling human emotions. Which in her case as a human, is not possible to happen unless she perished from the world, or… she herself turning into that demon she portrayed."

.

.

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* * *

"I see… so apparently some demon had disguised herself to be Lady Kagome…" Miroku mused.

After the gang explained everything to the people who were left in the village, they believe in him. The young Miko doesn't really look like a cold hearted killer either. They could only watch in wonder when the raven-haired woman healed some of the survivors' wound, as they whispered something about 'a priestess with holy power' to each other.

"Keh. Why was there even a demon who wanted to disguise themselves as the **weak wench**?" Inuyasha couldn't help his pouty mouth.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other.

Shippo hopped to Miroku's shoulder, "that's it, Miroku," he whispered carefully, so that the half demon and the miko couldn't heard him, "Kagome gonna sit him… I'm sure of it. That way something finally became right between them."

However, the young Miko only smiled at the man he just healed, "There you go. Be careful not to open your wound." She said as she made her out of the hut.

Shippo could felt his jaw dropped, "Wait, Kagome! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to clean myself, Shippo. My hands are all bloody from those men I helped." She answered casually.

'What? She's not gonna sit him?' Miroku, Sango, and Shippo thought at the same time.

Inuyasha just stared at the raven-haired woman. 'Kagome…. Forgive me.' He thought sadly.

* * *

Staring at her solemn and sad reflection in the river, Kagome began to get upset with herself and she threw a rock on it. "Stupid face! Stop looking to me like that! It just made me seemed like Kikyou!"

She dropped herself on the ground and sighed, "I've really lost it."

The raven-haired woman hugged her own knees as she murmured sadly, "He was insulting me again."

Normally, it didn't bother her so much when he was referring her to certain names such as weak humans, stupid wench or whatsoever. But this time it just seemed so… wrong for her to accept him calling her that.

'Well I bet he never call his beloved Kikyo names,' She thought bitterly, "Whatever, I don't really, I don't-" tears began to formed in her brown orbs.

'Stupid. Who am I trying to fool?" she thought dejectedly, her bangs covered her eyes, 'I told him I'm giving up on him. But why can't I stop this hurting feeling inside of me? Stupid emotion! I wish-I wish….. I could just stop feeling this emotions…'

Suddenly, the raven-haired woman felt as if something on her was jerked out. 'What…? What's happening to me?' She choked, in a certain way, she felt as if part of her was being taken out so abruptly. But oddly, somehow it felt… Good… It is as if some of her burden was being taken away. Slowly, she felt she was being drifted to somewhere else… However, all of the sudden that strange sensations ceased, and she came back to her senses.

'What was that?' she thought confusedly.

"Oii, Kagome!" called someone from a far.

'Who's… that..?'

"We've been waiting for you! I've asked that stupid dog to come get you, but he just being his usual dummy-self and refused to go!" Shippo muttered angrily as he got in front of the raven-haired woman.

Kagome looked at the fox demon in front of him and frowned. "You don't need to get him for me, Shippo. I'm fine by myself. The guy could do everything he wants for all I care."

"But- Kagome!"

However, Kagome had rose from her seating and began to make her pace back to the group.

Shippo just stared sadly at the woman who cared for him like she was his own mother. 'I hope things are going to get better.'

* * *

"Once again, thank you for your time and help, dear travelers," the head of the village bowed.

"No worries, we promise to try find this demon who was responsible for this cruel slaughter!" Miroku answered politely before the group began to continue their journey.

* * *

The sun shone so brightly that it almost feel that it pierced through their skin inside.

"I'm tired… and it's too hot…" Shippo whined.

"You're one to talk runt." Inuyasha grunted. The heat from the sunlight was starting to get on his head. "Damn. It's the mid of fall already for Kami's sake!"

"And to think that I wear two kimonos right now…" moaned Sango sadly as she wiped the sweat that had started rolling from her head.

"Then I''ll be glad to take one of them off, dear Sango." Miroku, being his lecherous self, of course… still manage to be such a lecher.

"Monk." The demon slayer reminded dangerously.

"I know! I know!"

Kagome chuckled softly. That Miroku. He really is hopeless isn't he?

But she knew well that Miroku truly cares for Sango. And she couldn't help but to felt a bit of jealousy at that thought.

'At least they love each other, without have to worry for the uncertain paths.' She thought dejectedly.

Just as she finished that thought, the dark mist suddenly appeared before her again. This time, she felt as if she was suffocating, like a big force was pulling something out of her. 'What's going on with myself now?'

As her strength left her, she became dizzy and her legs suddenly giving up.

The raven-haired woman felt herself being caught with a pair of familiar strong arms before she hit the ground.

"Kagome! Kagome wake up!" came the strong, but feminine yell of the demon slayer's.

"Oh Buddha! What happened to her?" asked the calm voice of the monk, with a tint of worry.

"Kagome!" It was the kitsune's concerned voice.

But the last voice was the one that sent unbearable chills on her body, "Kagome…" said the gruff voice of the hanyou that was holding her.

She didn't want to open her eyes. She was not ready to see the owner of the voice, but eventually she was forced to open them. And to her surprise, instead of the face of the hanyou, she saw a face that was dangerously familiar to her.

Instantly, she recognized the face she saw everyday in front of the mirror easily. But still, how could she saw her own face? With sad and somewhat cold brown eyes, that face looked... so mournful. There was something in her cold stare that caught Kagome off. Is that anger and bitterness she saw? She blinked once. When she opened her eyes again, the face changed into the face of the worried hanyou.

With what left in her consciousness, she was fighting herself to keep her eyes opened. She then managed to said something weakly, "no...its-"

Inuyasha frowned, "Kagome?"

But she was too tired to fight it; both mind and her body, so she let the darkness to consume her.

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he saw the woman in his arms slowly closed her eyes. "Kagome?" He asked again,then there was no respond, he started to grow frantic.

"KAGOME!"

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: Not sure when will I update the next chapter for this one... :s


	6. Trapped

A/N: Updated faster than I think I would. Thanks to the boring weekend... Sorry for the crappy title! Can anyone suggest me a more 'appropriate' title? I can not think of one now :s

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 6. Trapped

_..._

_Kagome was floating on the air freely._

_ She was perfectly at peace; her mind was free of any feelings of uneasiness._

_ But there's something that didn't feel right though._

_ What was this emptiness?_

_ Where was she?_

_ Why was she here?_

_ "You're awake." The raven-haired woman heard someone's voice._

_ Blurryly, she could saw a glimpse of someone there, but her eyes and mind couldn't catch the real face of the voice owner._

_ "Who… Are you?" she asked weakly._

_ "Who am I is not important to you. At least," The mysterious being paused a bit before continued, "A least, not now." _

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "You really are clueless ain't you? There's no point knowing me without knowing your own true self." The voice said coldly._

_ Kagome froze. "What do you mean not knowing my true self? Of course I know!" she said angrily._

_ "You're sure?" The voice was becoming nearer, and without Kagome knowing it, she was right beside her. Revealing her exact features to her._

_ Kagome gasped._

"_Impossible…." She shook her head, "You're an imposter, you're the one who killed the whole village!"_

"_I am?" the woman figure who looked exactly like her said. She chuckled. That chuckle suddenly turned into a dark, menacing, cold-hearted laughter._

_Kagome grimaced. Whatever is this creature, she was insane!_

"_You're one to talk. Priestess. I did not kill those useless humans. You did."_

"_What? Are you crazy?"_

_The figure smirked, "Remember this priestess. I am you," she paused, "But you are not me." She stretched out her right hand to Kagome and motioned her to open her palms. Confused, Kagome opened her palms as she felt something dropped to her hands. "What is it?"_

_Before she could take a look of what was it inside her hand, the darkness began to engulf her once more._

* * *

"Nooooooo!" The young woman jerked awake.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha quickly kneeled by her, shaking her shoulders. "Oy, snap out of it Kagome, Kagome!" he yelled.

Kagome was panting, her heart beat so fast and she was out of breath. She stared at her surroundings and sighed in relief. She was inside Kaede's hut. 'It was just a dream…'

She glanced around and saw her friends' concerned looks. 'I must've made them worried…' she thought.

"Kagome…. " She turned to the hanyou beside her.

"Inuyasha?"

"Are you… Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

Despite of their "cold war", Inuyasha had always been very concerned and worried about the young priestess' well being.

She nodded. "It just a nightmare, don't worry." She managed to give him a smile.

Inuyasha sighed. 'Well that was the first time she smiled at me ever since… that day.' However, he could feel something missing from Kagome's usual warm smile. He was not sure of what it is, but it felt… that the smile was kind of… empty?

Kagome, on the other side, was contemplating what the figure in her dream had said in her dream. 'Why did I dreamed such thing…?'

"I need to be alone for a while." She said as she rose.

"Kagome!"

"Let the child go for a while, Inuyasha." Said Kaede wistfully, "I believe her mind was troubled by something. But it is best to leave it to her to solve it right now, considering the rather unpleasant problem the two of you have."

Inuyasha fell silence, 'The hag's right… trying to console her at time like this would probably made our relationship worse.'

* * *

Kagome walked absentmindedly to the Forest of Inuyasha. Looking at the tree where she first met Inuyasha, she sighed.

"Inuyasha, what does he think about me right now..?" She asked to no one particular.

Without she even realized it, she had been clenching her fists ever since she woke up. Probably because of the tense she felt. She put her right fist to her heart, clenching it even harder. Suddenly, she felt something inside her fist.

'What?' She opened her fist slowly.

Kagome gasped at the sight before her.

An almost completed Shikon jewel.

Which means.

It was the Shikon jewel that Naraku held!

"What? But…how?" Then, she remembered the events on her dream.

The figure who looked exactly like her dropped the jewel on her hands!

"But it was a dream! There's no way-"

Suddenly, a noise was heard behind the bushes, and instantly Kagome grew alarmed.

"Who's there?!" She yelled.

"Khukhukhu…"

Kagome froze. There is only one person in this world who could muster a laugh that sinister…

"Naraku? Get out of the bushes, you coward!"

"Why, Kagome. So eager to see me aren't you." Said Naraku slyly as he walked out of the bushes.

'Oh no. I didn't bring my bow and arrows!' Kagome thought frantically.

Naraku chuckled. "There's no need to be so panic, Kagome. I'm not here to harm you."

"What do you want?" asked the priestess angrily.

"I want nothing from you Kagome," he paused before he continued, "At least not now."

Kagome flinched.

"_**Who am I is not important to you. At least," The mysterious being paused a bit before continued, "A least, not now."**_

"You! You're the one who sent me that creepy woman who looked like me ain't you? And now what's your planning, giving me this jewel shards?" she demanded.

"Still feisty as always, I see… Perhaps the transformation level isn't fast enough." Naraku mused.

"Stop messing with me Naraku, I swear, I'll purify-"

"Now now Kagome. Look, you were unarmed. I could so easily kill you if I wanted to. I even gave you my shards. And I have not touched even a strand of your hair until now. Do you really think I was here to fight you?"

"Then what is it did you want from me?" asked the miko heatedly.

"It's simple," the evil hanyou answered, "I wanted you to take the shards with you, and left Inuyasha's side immediately."

Kagome gasped. "What are you talking about? I would never-"

"Still trapped over your unrequited love for the useless half breed, I see…" he said with a tint of sarcasm in his tone, "Then how about a trade, Kagome?"

"Don't joke with me Naraku… I should've purified you by now!" Gathering all of her courage, she tried to focus on her spiritual energy. 'Please, let me.'

A blast came out of her hands, but Naraku easily dodged it.

Naraku chuckled. "I see that your spiritual power had finally weaken. So the transformation didn't really take a long time on you after all."

Kagome glared at him. "Stop this nonsense, Naraku. What are you trying to say?"

Naraku grinned. "Kanna," The mirror demon went out of the bushes. "Show the girl."

An image began to form in Kanna's mirror.

That was her.

It was her, but in the same time it wasn't her too. She was standing in all her evil glory, menacing smile on her pink lips, long raven-hair waved in the blowing wind, with dark blue and black armor clothed her. Her hand was holding a black giant sword. Her eyes... they were so dead and distant that it send chills to Kagome's spine. Those orbs looked even much colder than Kikyo's.

She realized that she was the figure she saw in her dream.

Then she saw her friends, the demon slayer, the monk, and the fox demon.

But she grimaced when she saw that they were all died. 'What?' she thought, holding her tears. 'I could not possibly be the one who kill them…'

She saw Inuyasha was the one still left; he was wounded very badly and was struggling to stand. A sly smile formed in the corner of the evil woman lips, as she raised her sword to give the last blow, "Die, Inuyasha. We'll meet again in hell."

"No!" Kagome screamed as she clutched her head and shut her eyes. "It's not true, you're only trying to manipulate me! No!"

"Admit it, Kagome." Naraku said, "You too knew that it might be true. Why deny it? You haven't feel like yourself in the past days, right?"

Kagome's eyes shot opened. "What… why do you know?" Memories of the last encounter she had with Kagura and the baby began to flash back in her mind. On that fateful day…. Did Naraku somehow managed to take a control of her?

Naraku laugh. "You see, it was either you becoming the image or you perished and she completely take over your place. But I have a good offering for you, Kagome."

"What is it…?" Kagome asked helplessly.

"Like I said before. Go. Go far away where no one could find you. Go left Inuyasha's side and took those shards with you. I'll masked away your scent so the stupid half breed could never find you." Commanded the evil hanyou, but seeing the miko's confused face, he sighed, "I'll give you two days to think about my offer. Remember Kagome, your friends' very life is in your hands." And with that, he look his silent leave.

Upon Naraku's departure, Kagome fell to her knees and cried.

'What do I do now?'

* * *

**End chapter**

* * *

A/N: So what do you think?

Until then!

Amane~


	7. Run Away

A/N: I admit, this was probably the hardest chapter to write. I'm no good at this type of quarrel :S

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 7. The Run Away

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"No!" gasped the raven-haired woman as she jerked awake.

Her heart was pounding so fast, as she was breathless.

'That dream again…' She thought.

After her last encounter with Naraku, almost every night Kagome was haunted with a dream, in which she heartlessly murdered all her friends.

She quickly took a glance at her friends. They were asleep… safe, and sound. Miroku was sleeping dangerously close to Sango, but he didn't seemed to do anything the slayer wouldn't like if she was awake. Shippo was curling to a ball not far from her.

The young priestess flinched. In her dream, she had brutally blasted the monk-and-demon-slayer couple into nothingness… and strangled the little fox demon to his death. She bit her lip, 'Will it be better if I really leave?

Then her gaze flew to the half demon above the tree, 'He's still asleep,' she thought, 'Tomorrow night is new moon. I guess his sense isn't in the best performance right now. If I really were to leave… this is my good chance.'

Picking up her bows and arrows carefully, Kagome tiptoed to the bushes, and when she was sure that no one could see or hear her anymore, she ran. She ran with everything she got.

* * *

"Shippo, have you seen Kagome this morning?" asked the demon slayer.

"Not really, Sango. She wasn't in her sleeping bag already when I woke up." Answered the little fox demon, pointing to the Miko's empty sleeping bag.

Sango frowned, "Weird. Did she got back to her home?"

"But Sango, Lady Kagome would usually told us whenever she went home." Said Miroku.

The demon slayer sighed, "That's what I thought too, Miroku."

Just then, a flash of silver and red passed through them.

"Inuyasha!" exclaimed Sango.

"What? Hey. Do you guys see Kagome anywhere?" he asked quickly.

The three of them shook their head.

"Nope Inuyasha, we haven't saw her since this morning. So we thought she might had gone home." Answered Shippo.

Amber eyes widened, "No, she's not…" Inuyasha muttered softy, "I just got back from her time. Her mother said she hasn't came back yet."

Then something hit on him. Tonight was his human night! Of course! He wouldn't realized it if Kagome had left.

"Shit," he cursed, "That stupid girl!" He jumped and ran as fast as his demonic speed could take him.

"Wait! Inuyasha!"

"All of you just stay here! I need to find her as soon as possible!"

'Please,' he thought, 'let me find her before the night came!'

.

.

* * *

"Ow. That hurts!" Kagome moaned. She tipped her legs and got a scratch on it from a bush. A small drop of her blood fell to the leave.

"Oh no. Not another scar…" she sighed. The young priestess looked around her surroundings. It was a clearing, with lots of giant trees and bushes. "Where am I now?" she asked to no one in particular.

Then, she remembered what Naraku had said to her in their last encounter.

"_**Go far away where no one could find you. Go left Inuyasha's side and took those shards with you. I'll masked away your scent so the stupid half breed could never find you."**_

'Masked away my scent?' she thought, 'So… I need to find him now?' She flinched at that thought.

"Yeah right. The day I would be searching for Naraku is the day when Inuyasha stopped chasing after Kikyo." She said bitterly.

What she didn't know, though, was that the evil hanyou had been observing her from the Kanna's mirror. He figured that it was the time to make his appearance.

A gust of wind could be heard. Alarmed, Kagome turned her head to the source of the sound. "Who's there?" she shouted.

"Kagome. I see that you had made your decision…." Came the menacing voice of Naraku.

"Naraku!" she gasped.

"Well then, I think it's my turn to help you?" the evil hanyou smiled slyly.

"You told me to get away from Inuyasha… But how exactly are you gonna hid me from him?" asked the Miko.

Naraku chuckled, "Very simple. But believe me, I do not need to do anything for it. The Shikon Jewel you possessed right now should be enough."

Kagome grew even more confused,"What? What does the Shikon Jewel have to do with this? More importantly, why did you give me the jewel?"

A grin was formed on the corner of Naraku's lips, "You'll find out soon enough… Kagome."

And just like how he appeared, a gust of wind began to engulf his body and he disappeared.

"Wait!" screamed Kagome.

'What is he talking about?' Kagome took out jewel inside her pocket and gasped.

"The jewel… It's getting dark!"

.

.

* * *

"KAGOMEEE!" roared Inuyasha as he mindlessly cut through the trees on his way, 'Damn it, Kagome. Where could you have been? Don't you know what danger you might put yourself into?' he thought frantically.

Suddenly, a familiar scent hit his nose. It was faint, but even in his current state, he instantly figured out that it was the scent of Kagome's blood.

'She must've cut herself or something,' he thought as he quickened his pace.

.

.

* * *

"Naraku, I still don't understand why you gave the jewel to that girl." The wind sorceress said, "What is your plan now?"

"Just you see Kagura. Holding an almost completed shikon jewel in her current state would bring her no good… In fact, they would corrupt each other." He grinned.

Kagura rolled her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"A corrupted jewel shard will make the one holding it becoming impure. And an impure person would corrupt a jewel shard he was holding… And Kagome right now, let's us just say, is not in her _purest_ state."

The wind sorceress nodded in understanding. "I see. Your true intention is actually to let her… became that demon, isn't it?"

"Of course. Do you think I would just give away the jewel shard to her and let her go? It's a win or win situation for me!" Naraku laughed maniacally.

"You truly are evil, Naraku." Murmured Kagura.

* * *

'What do I do now?' Kagome thought desperately, 'Why did the jewel turn black?'

"_**Because you are weak, priestess." **_

"What? Who are you?" Kagome grew even more panic. Great, now she's talking to herself.

The dark voice chuckled.

_**"I am you. Haven't you figured that yet? How disappointing. You're slower than I imagine."**_

"Don't joke with me! Get away from my head!" cried the raven-haired girl.

_**"Not a chance, priestess."**_

"No! Someone please help me!" She cried

_**"No one's gonna save you except yourself priestess. Why don't accept the truth and join me?"**_

"Stop…" she murmured weakly, but the voices in her head ignored her and continue to torment her.

"_**Forget that stupid halfbreed. He abandoned you so many times, remember?"**_

The voice continued to taunt her until she decided she couldn't take it anymore. She clenched her eyes closed, as if she was trying to shut the voices down.

"I SAID STOPPPP!" she screamed.

* * *

Inuyasha's ears perked at the sound of Kagome's scream that echoed through the forest. "Kagome!"

'Damn it,' he thought worriedly, 'Please let her be ok…. I won't forgive myself if I let her get hurt again!'

The hanyou dashed madly through the forest, "KAGOME!"

Soon enough, his demonic speed brought him to the place where Kagome was. She was slumped to the ground, but she didn't seem to get hurt anywhere. He quickly eyed around for any danger, but where he found none, he began to approach the priestess.

The raven-haired girl were covering her ears with her hands, her bangs covered her face.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha began carefully. When she didn't respond, though, he reached to touch her.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" snapped Kagome, out of the sudden.

Inuyasha flinched and took a step back, 'What the hell?'

"Hey, what's with you?" he advanced to her again.

But this time, Kagome gave out a low growl.

"I said," she hissed, her teary brown eyes met Inuyasha's amber one, "Don't. Touch. Me. That's it, if you still wish to live."

Inuyasha was so taken aback, but still, despite of the warning, he moved forward to Kagome and grabbed her shoulders.

"What's wrong with you, Kagome?" he yelled.

Kagome's eyes widened at the skin contact, "NO!" she screamed and hit him with a blast from her hands. The blast threw Inuyasha away until he hit a tree.

"Urgh!" the hanyou grunted. 'Did she just… used her power on me?' he thought in disbelief.

Just then, the moon began to reveal itself… as Inuyasha finally changed to his human form. "Shit. Why now?" moaned him as he struggled to stand. The blow he just took was pretty harsh for a human.

Kagome was snapped back to reality when she saw the hanyou lying below the tree he was thrown into.

"Inuyasha…I'm- I'm sorry…" she cried softly. Suddenly, the voice entered her mind again.

_**"Kill him, kill the useless half breed."**_

'What? You're crazy!'

"_**Quick! This is your chance to take a revenge on all the pain he had let you gone through!"**_

'No! I would not hurt Inuyasha no matter what!'

"_**You wench. Remember I am you. And I WILL hurt him. Let's just see how long can you resist me."**_

'No!'

Inuyasha could see the raven-haired girl in front of him began to tremble. He stood up and approach her, "Kagome..?"

Kagome took a step back. "No, Inuyasha. Don't come near me! Please!"

Inuyasha growled, "Never. Do you forget when I said I'll never leave you alone again?"

The young priestess bit her lips. 'In this rate, I'm really gonna kill him! I guess- I guess I have no choice...'

Just when Inuyasha was about to touch her again, she pushed him away, using her power to the extent that it would only make the hanyou-turned-human fainted.

And it worked.

Glancing at the unconscious form of Inuyasha one last time, she murmured her sorry before she ran and disappeared to the darkness.

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: I planned to end this story in around 2-3 more chapters, making it a 10 chapters story. But then the plot begin to stumbling out of control O_O *pulls out hair***  
**


	8. You're not Her

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 8. You're not Her

...

Kagome was running. She wasn't sure where she's going, but one thing she knew; she had to get away from her friends, from Inuyasha as far as possible.

'I almost let myself killed him,' she thought to herself. Memories of her dream, seeing the woman that was supposed to be herself heartlessly murdering her friends began to flash back in her mind.

'No, I won't let that happen!' With that in her mind, she closed her eyes and quickened her pace.

Without she even realized it, the raven-haired girl had run towards a cliff. Her brown orbs widened as she felt that she lose her footing, she tripped and tumbled to the edge of the cliff. She didn't even scream and just let the gravity took over next… Her figure was becoming smaller and smaller as the darkness of the pit completely swallowed her in.

.

.

* * *

The beam of the sunlight hit the hanyou's face, awoken him from his deep, yet unrested slumber. He had been dreaming of Kagome. She had looked so… unlike herself in his dream. Her eyes that were usually bright with hope, were dull and full and sorrow. Her smile that never failed to help him feel better was replaced in exchange to a dark and threatening scowl. She was muttering 'sorry' to him repeatedly, before suddenly she raised what seemed like a giant sword and sent the blast towards him. And that's when he woke up.

"Ah!" yelled Inuyasha as he jerked awake.

"Inuyasha! You're ok?" That was the voice of the fox demon.

Inuyasha looked around him. He was in Kaede's hut… But why? The last time he remembered, he was still in the forest with Kagome…

He gasped. That's right!

"Kagome!" He yelled as he tried to stand up abruptly.

"Calm down Inuyasha Lady Kagome is mot here!" Miroku said.

"She's leaving us! She's been acting so strange lately and I don't know that the hell is wrong with her! Ugh…" he grabbed his sore arm at where Kagome had blasted him to the tree.

"Inuyasha, did young Kagome did this to ye?" asked Kaede carefully.

"That's impossible! Why would Kagome-" The demon slayer protested, but soon fell silence as she caught a glance at Inuyasha's unreadable expression.

"Inuyasha..?" she asked softly to the young half demon.

"She said… no, she threatened me to leave her alone…that's it, if I _still wish to live."_ Inuyasha murmured brokenly.

Everyone in the room gasped. They knew that the relationship between the two was not at it's best, but still… she wouldn't have threatened to kill him, right?

"Are you sure you're not just being delusional, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku as he put his hand at the hanyou's forehead.

Inuyasha growled as he snapped the monk's hand. "I'm not fuckin mad, Miroku, she said it clearly to my face!"

"This is so not like Kagome... Inuyasha, are you really sure-"

"I don't know I don't know! Don't ask me!" Inuyasha snapped as he stood and dashed out of the hut.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called out.

Kaede sighed. "Something told me that this problem is going to last for a long time…"

.

.

* * *

"It seems that your little plan had worked well, Naraku. But still, I wonder why did you let that girl go… You aimed to use her bitterness towards Inuyasha to grow that monster and destroy him, right? How can it possibly be done if you told her to get away?" said the sultry voice of the wind sorceress, as she stared at the magical mirror in front of the evil hanyou.

Naraku smirked. "It is no need, Kagura… I'm sure that she's going to come back. And when that happens, we are going to have one interesting show."

"Oh? And just how it would work?"

"Did you forget, Kagura? The shikon jewel can only be purified with pure heart. Do you think Kagome's heart is still as untainted as it was?"

Kagura fell silence for a while before understanding finally hit her. "I see… You're planning to taint the girl and turned her into another blood thirst monster, are you not?"

The evil hanyou chuckled darkly. "You're a smart woman, Kagura. Now, let's just see how much time would it take for her to completely lost herself and destroy that useless halfbreed."

.

.

* * *

Inuyasha didn't know what really happened. He just needed to clear his mind. He walked absent-mindedly until he reached a small village. During his way, he couldn't help but to wonder, why would Kagome wanted to attack him? Why would she want to leave him? Could it be that she was under Naraku's control? Unwanted thoughts began to fill his mind.

'No, that's impossible.' He thought, 'I didn't sense even a tiny bit of scent of Naraku or any evil aura from her…' But he grew even more worried with that thought.

'If it wasn't for Naraku… then what else...? Or…Kagome, do you really do not wish to be by my side anymore that much?' He thought dejectedly. That's when suddenly a pint of uneasiness hit his very being.

'What is this nagging feeling? This feels like the very same day … Kikyo had died.' He thought to himself. Something bad is going to happen, he could almost sense it. But what is it?

And that's when suddenly his ear picked up a woman's scream.

"Help! There's a girl on the river, she was badly injured!"

"What? Is she someone from our village?"

"I don't think so… She wears strange clothes…"

"Is she still alive? We must hurry and save her if she is!"

For some reason, the conversation drew Inuyasha's attention. He approached the villagers and asked them. "What are you guys talking about? There's a hurt girl by the river?"

The woman who first told about the girl on the river nodded. "I don't know who she was… She wears a strange kimono. Wait… I barely could say it was a kimono… it was too short to be called so."

Strange, for some reason, the way that woman described the kimono made Inuyasha think about Kagome's odd clothings.

His golden orbs widened at realization. 'Impossible, it couldn't be- I didn't even catch her scent anywhere near!'

"Woman, tell me where the river is, now!" he demanded.

The short haired woman gulped, "That way…." She pointed to the right. "Just go straight there and you'll find a river near by."

Without anymore waiting, Inuyasha dashed madly towards the direction.

'Please, don't let it be her! It was not possible that it was her, right? I couldn't pick up the scent!'

As he came nearing the river, he could feel that his heart beat faster than ever. He caught a glimpse of white and green, and without thinking, he approached the figure.

His eyes widened.

"No, Kagome, no no no!" He cried as he hugged the broken and frail body of the young woman in his arms.

He searched for any sign of life, silently praying for a heartbeat or a breath coming from the raven-haired girl. But when he found none, he felt as if his world came stumbling apart.

"No… Stop acting wench! Open your damn eyes! This is not funny you know!"

He was shaking, he was in denial and he knew it, but he simply refused to believe it… He shook the girl repeatedly, as if it was going to bring her back to life. He looked up at the top of the cliff. She must've fallen from there and somehow carried away by the river current...

"Please, Kagome. Wake up, damnit! If you just opened your eyes right now, I promised you could do whatever you want to me, screamed at me, yell at me, I don't care! Just wake the hell up, Kagome!" he yelled furiously. He didn't care if he was practically begging at her now.

And as if the girl in his arm was responding to his rants, she abruptly opened her eyes, causing the hanyou gasped. 'She's not... dead?'

Before he even got the chance to feel relieve, he noticed something very wrong.

Since when did Kagome's eyes were red?

The raven haired woman blinked several times, before she let out a low growl. Startled, Inuyasha loosened his grip on her, "Kagome?"

Kagome hissed and quickly jumped out of his arms, her eyes never moved from him.

Inuyasha was very confused. This was her... right?

"Half breed," she began to spoke. Inuyasha flinched. That was Kagome's voice, but for some reason, it didn't felt like hers. It was too cold and too intimidating to be hers.

"Leave me alone for once, before I destroyed you!" She yelled to him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kagome? First, you left me, then you're almost red... And what shit I've been hearing now? And what's with that eyes? Are you trying to joke around with me, wench?" Inuyasha shouted back.

The raven haired woman just kept glaring at the man in front of her.

"Wait a minute... You're not being controlled by Naraku are you?" Inuyasha asked very carefuly, as understanding hit him.

Kagome began to laugh maniacally. Inuyasha shuddered. That laugh... it wasn't the cheerful and innocent laugh Inuyasha once knew. It was cold, distant, and held no love whatsoever. Instead, it was filled with hatred and bitterness.

"Naraku? Why would he control me? He's just another weak half demon, like you are. Stupid and weak-hearted half demon who fall over their heels with a DEAD PRIESTESS!"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Enough Kagome! Why the hell did you bring up this again? What's gotten into you?"

"Oh? Did I offend your little clay pot, Inuyasha?"

"Stop it, Kagome, before I get really mad!"

"I'd like to see that, you sorry excuse for half demon." spatted Kagome.

Inuyasha was very furious, but on the other side, he was also so confused at Kagome's antics. Did she really hate him that much?

"You hate me, right? I knew I deserve this but please just drop this act!"

"Hate you, Inuyasha?" She chuckled, eyes never left Inuyasha's.

"I don't hate you, Inuyasha... I despised you. And I would be very glad if you could just _drop dead_ right now." She said with venom in her voice.

"Mister! Are you OK? We heard yelling" It was the villagers he had met earlier.

"All of you stay away!" commanded Inuyasha frantically. Kagome was not in her right mind!

The raven haired woman smirked, as she decided to put up a little show for Inuyasha. Before Inuyasha could even blinked his eyes, Kagome had took one of the villagers with her.

"I could took the life of this man for you to see, Inuyasha..." She said, a wicked smile formed from the corner of her lips.

Inuyasha just stared at her in disbelief. Who the hell is she?

"You're crazy woman... You're not Kagome!" the half demon screamed in frustration, "Who are you, and what have you done with Kagome!"

Kagome laughed even harder. "You foolish half breed. Can't even tell who I am? I pity you." And with that, she strangled the man in his grasp, poison began to emit from her body. The man cried in pain, before finally his eyes rolled and Kagome dropped him to the ground. Dead. All the villagers screamed in horror as they saw the lifeless figure of their friend on the fround.

The half demon's golden orbs widened. "You-"

"I'm wasting my time here, sorry Inuyasha. I would like to be here just a bit longer... But our game can't be played this soon... But I can promise you, Inuyasha... We'll going to meet again, _**very soon**_..."

And with that, darkness engulfed her body as she completely disappeared. "Wait you wench!" yelled Inuyasha.

'No... that couldn't be Kagome...' Inuyasha thought to himself. 'There's no way that bitch is Kagome!'

But still, he couldn't deny himself, when he hold her in his arms few times ago, he had been so sure that it was the very same woman whom he had grown to love... That dreadful feeling of loosing her, that couldn't be a mistake... right..?

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: No good response from "The Kingdom of Heaven and Hell" *sigh* So I figured I would just continue this one as I plan for the next plot in "Love by Chance".


	9. Bittersweet Kiss

A/N: Hi! For those of you who have read my author notes, I just want to say, that I'm going to continue this story, with the help of my new partner… Mouseshadow01 :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 9. Bittersweet Kiss

...

"Are ye saying that young Kagome had killed one of the villagers, Inuyasha?" asked Kaede.

Inuyasha grunted for what seemed the hundredth time, in response to the question that he had been asked repeatedly from every one inside the hut.

"Yeah, Inuyasha, you're sure you're not being delusional again?" added Shippo, jumping to the half demon's shoulder and tugged his hair.

"Get off of me Shippo!" Inuyasha scolded as he pulled the kitsune away from his shoulder roughly and tossed him to the floor.

"Whoa! Hey no need to be so violent, Inuyasha! I was just trying to make sure!" cried Shippo.

Inuyasha stood up and growled. "I swear, you were all getting on my nerves! I saw SHE slain the man by my own eyes! I had the front row seat! But I'm not sure that it was her!"

Miroku stood up as well. "What do you mean, you're not sure, Inuyasha? Are you by any chance, were trying to say that you might mistook Lady Kagome for someone else? Really, Inuyasha. I thought you are the one who knows and understand Lady Kagome the most by now?"

Inuyasha was about to retort back, but when he saw the seriousness in Miroku's eyes, he fell silence.

"I need time to think alone." He spoke so lowly that it was almost hard to hear for everyone in the hut, before he made his way out of the hut.

"Inuyasha-"

"Let him be, Shippo. He said he wanted to be alone, let him clear his head off for a while." Said the demon slayer gently.

"But, Sango!" protested the Kitsune, "Inuyasha's been acting so strange ever since Kagome got back here the last time! Someone has to snapped the day lights out of his thick skull!"

"No, Shippo. I'm afraid Sango's right. There's nothing much for us to do. This is the problem between Inuyasha and Kagome. I'm sure they're going to manage it somehow… But still…. Could it be that it was really our Kagome that Inuyasha had saw earlier?" said Kaede wistfully.

"But, lady Kaede, Kagome would never kill anyone!" protested Sango.

"That, my child, is what I'm afraid of. What if she was being controlled by Naraku?" answered the old priestess.

Miroku cleared her throat. "But Inuyasha had told us earlier… when he cornered 'Kagome', it was clear that she declared that she did no such things as to helping Naraku…"

"And that's the part where I believe, I might not understand fully, monk… The whole situation is already so confusing as it is... And this new incident didn't do much help at all." Kaede sighed as she rubbed her temples. "Rest assured, everyone… I'm sure that Inuyasha would somehow find a way out and manage everything to be alright..."

The others in the room just kept silence. But still… No matter how hard they tried to reassure themselves, they couldn't help the very same question that was running through their minds.

Is everything is truly going to be alright?

.

.

.

* * *

It was almost dark, and Kagome was wondering aimlessly in the forest. She knew well that any demon might come and attack her here and right now. But she didn't care. Her last encounter with Inuyasha left her quite a foul mood.

She would gladly kill any demon that come to her way right now…

She stopped at a meadow, as she felt another presence came nearing her. The raven-haired woman smirked.

"Whoever are you, there's no need to hide yourself. Really, are you afraid of a mere human woman like me?" she called out tauntingly.

"Khukhukhu… quite an attitude you got here, my dear."

Kagome froze.

'Naraku? What he's doing looking out for her again?'

But then she growled slightly as realization hit her. 'I see… He was trying to use me wasn't he?'

"Naraku. I knew you're there. Come out! If you think that you can control me, you're wrong!"

"Ah… too bad you recognized my presence too soon… Just when I was about to show you a good show…." The evil half demon faked his disappointment in his tone.

Kagome growled as she saw him finally came out to her view.

"Don't mess with me, Naraku. What are you planning now?"

"Nothing in particular except to trick you just like I had with Kikyo and Inuyasha fifty years ago, Kagome…"

The raven-haired woman gasped. "Just what do you mean, Naraku?"

"Kagome, I'm surprised you're still as naive. This is the very same spot where I had attacked Kikyo as Inuyasha fifty years ago." Laughed Naraku.

'As if it would work on me. I'm not Kikyo, I'm not a foolish priestess who pathetically let herself got tricked by… two useless half demons like them!' She thought angrily.

"Why do you stand still, Kagome? Bet you're thinking about that half demon, aren't you?" taunted Naraku.

"Shut up." Kagome hissed. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Khukhukhu… I'd like to see you come and try, Kagome."

Dark clouds surround the evil half demon, and he vanished within a second.

'He ran away, huh? But I can still sense his presence…' Kagome thought, 'That way!'

.

.

* * *

"Stupid, stupid them. Why won't they just believe me?" cussed Inuyasha angrily as he stomped to the woods.

Without he even realizing it, he was walking toward the meadow where he had promised to meet Kikyo fifty years ago.

Inuyasha paused and looked at his surroundings. He sighed.

'Kikyo…. Are you truly at peace, now?' he thought solemnly as he stared into the sky. If fifty years ago Naraku hadn't succeeded making the two of them fallen to his trap, maybe… just maybe….

'No…' Inuyasha shook his head from that thought. 'It means that he would never be able to meet with Kagome.

Kagome…. Where is she now? What had happened with her?

The silver haired hanyou took a long deep breath. However, it was not long until an all-too-familiar scent began to hit his nose.

'Naraku's scent? It was faint, but I know it was there!'

He sniffed around. "True, he's been here for a while! I might still be able to catch him if I follow the scent now!"

'And perhaps I might find out if he was really behind all of this….'

Determined, Inuyasha tracked Naraku's scent and ran as fast as his legs could bring him.

.

.

* * *

'Strange. His aura vanished right here… ' thought Kagome as she made a stop in a small village. 'I'm sure I had followed to the right direction… Did he, by any chance had disguised himself to a villager? No, if that's so… I would've still be able to sense his demonic aura…'

She looked around like a predator hunting for its prey. The villagers were staring at her in confusion.

"What's that woman doing?"

"I don't know, but she sure wears such a strange clothing!"

"Do you see her eyes? They are red! Is she a demon or something?"

"Yeah, do you hear the rumor about a mad demon woman who heartlessly slaughtered the people in the other villages?"

Vaguely, Kagome could hear all those villagers' whisperings.

"All of you better kept silence if you still value your life." She hissed darkly.

One of the male villagers gasped. "So it's true! She's a demon! Everyone, gather your weapons! We must get rid of this demon before she bring harm to our village!"

Kagome smirked. "Getting rid of me, eh?"

.

.

* * *

"Damn it, his scent faded!" cursed Inuyasha angrily. He found himself was nearing a village.

'A village?'

And that's when he heard what seemed like a big explosion.

'What was that?' He quickened his pace to the small village.

Kagome smiled to herself in satisfaction, while the villagers backed away and could only stared in horror at the big craters she just made with a few claps of her hands. A few huts were even destroyed with that blow.

"You vile demon! You destroyed our village!" cried the headmaster of the village as he tried to attack Kagome from behind her back with a sword in his hand.

Kagome turned around. "How pathetic." She caught the man's arm and slapped his sword away. She gripped the man's neck with her right hand.

"I was pretty pissed off today… Do you think I might feel better after seeing your blood drop to my very hands?"

She gripped the poor man's neck tighter and was about to release the venom from her hands, before suddenly she heard a loud shouting.

"RELEASE THAT MAN!" demanded Inuyasha fiercely.

Kagome turned her head around to face him.

'Kagome!' Inuyasha thought, seeing the face of the woman who had plagued his nightmares in the last few days. But then he shook his head. 'No, it's not her, I refuse to believe that!'

Inuyasha growled. "Release her, you demon!"

The raven-haired woman chuckled bitterly. "Are you calling me a demon, Inuyasha?"

"Damn right that's what you are!" answered Inuyasha heatedly as he lunged to her.

Kagome, surprised and not prepared with the intrusion, accidentally released the village's headmaster in the process. The man took the opportunity to get away from the raging woman.

Inuyasha jumped a few miles from Kagome and turned to the rest of the villagers. "Quick, everyone, get out of here. Run as fast as you can!"

The villagers followed his command, as they began to run for their lives.

Kagome smirked. "How very kind of you, Inuyasha. Not like I care though. Wait. Do I care at all about anything you did?"

"You did this, didn't you? You destroyed the village and is going to slaughter those innocent villagers!" accused Inuyasha angrily.

A sly smile played from the corner of the raven-haired woman's lips. "So what if I did, Inuyasha? Are you going to kill me now, hmm?"

"Why did you do this… Kagome?" asked Inuyasha dejectedly. "No… You're not her. Who are you? Tell me you're not Kagome!"

'Tell me that this is just another set of nightmare, that the woman in front of me now isn't who I thought she is…'

"You couldn't even tell if it was me, Inuyasha. How sad. To think that it was coming from the man who had swore to protect me…" said Kagome in disgust.

"I didn't swore to protect a demon like you! I'm going to protect Kagome, no matter what!" retorted Inuyasha.

"Shut up! I'm sick of your lies, Inuyasha!"

With that, she began to take her charge and lunged at him with bare hands.

Inuyasha quickly dodged the attack.

"I have enough of this!" He unsheathed his sword.

"Oh… Now you're raising your sword against the woman you had sworn to protect?" asked Kagome, amused.

"Stop acting like you're Kagome, you bitch!" spatted Inuyasha.

"WELL I AM HER, INUYASHA!" Kagome raised her tone. Inuyasha just glared at the woman in front of him, while keeping his guard on.

"Is it so hard to believe it? I also didn't believe that you had never hesitated even just for a bit to abandon me every time, and chased after Kikyo like a lost little puppy…" said Kagome with a snide remark. Inuyasha flinched a bit, but managed to stay calm and kept silence.

'That must've hit the spot.' thought Kagome as she smirked to herself.

But then, her face softened a bit as she continued. "Inuyasha… Whenever you heard about her, you would just left me without a second thought, again and again... Don't give me that look. Don't tell me you have no clue whatsoever about my feelings. You should realize about it by now. Tell me, Inuyasha. Do I mean that little to you?"

Her voice cracked a bit, and this didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was so taken aback. He searched around her expression, trying to look for a tiny speck of lie from her. But he froze, as he realized that he barely find any.

"K-Keh. You're just trying to fool me."

Kagome growled. "You stupid, stubborn half demon. I didn't know how could I keep up with you for a long time. But everything's gonna end here and right now!" She clapped her hands, and again, a few explosions were made.

Inuyasha jumped to avoid the blows. But the fog from the explosions made everything around him blurry.

"Where are you?" he screamed, baring his sword in front of him in a battle mode.

'Shit, I couldn't even sense her….'

"Behind you, Inuyasha…"

Inuyasha turned around, but it was too late, Kagome had delivered a blast to him from her hands.

"Argh!" Inuyasha was thrown a few miles away by the blow.

Kagome smirked, and went to him.

"The poor guy. Is he knocked unconscious already?" she said as she brushed his face with her right hand. Just then, Inuyasha's eyes blinked open and he quickly pushed the woman in front of him and pinned her to the ground, raising his sword.

"Tell me who you are!" He demanded.

The raven haired woman just smirked. "Why, Inuyasha, what's with the hesitation? C'mon, one stab from your sword should be enough to kill me."

Inuyasha growled. "Don't mess with me!"

Kagome sighed in annoyance. "If you're not going to make your moves, then I guess…"

In a blink of eye, their position switched so that Kagome was straddling Inuyasha beneath her. Her hands gripped his neck tightly.

"Ugh…" Inuyasha choked.

"You stupid half breed." Spatted Kagome angrily. "I hate you, I wish you would just disappear from this world!"

Inuyasha closed his eyes, preparing for the next step the woman above him would do. What is that that she used to kill the villager? Ah, yes. Poison. Or maybe another blast from her hands? However, what he's not prepared of was a pair of lips that descended upon his own. His eyes shot opened. For a moment, he could swear he saw the pair of brown eyes he had grown to love. He gasped as he felt something wet dropped on his face. Is she… crying?

Kagome pulled away abruptly and jumped to a tree, while Inuyasha just lied there in the same position, still too astounded and shocked to do anything.

"I spare you for this one time, Inuyasha." The raven-haired woman said, her eyes were red again. "But believe me, the next time I see you, it'll be your grave." And with that, she disappeared as fast as the darkness engulfed her.

Upon Kagome's departure, Inuyasha just stood numbly as he touched his lips. Strange, it is as if he could read through Kagome's emotions in that kiss. Her bitterness, her despair, and even her love... He then fell to his knees.

'Kagome… It's really you! Oh Kami… What did I do to deserve this?'

* * *

**End Chapter**


	10. Plot and Betrayal

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I'm currently preparing to transfer to university... (yay or no?) and so yeah, I've been doing some applications and stuffs.. _

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 10. Plot and Betrayal

...

'It's really her….'

'Why did she….?'

'What happened to her?'

Inuyasha walked numbly around the forest. His thoughts were filled of the latest incidence he had just encountered.

'Kagome... Since when you…? But why? Or… did I really hurt you that much this time?'

Without him even realizing it, he had arrived to Kaede's village.

He stopped. 'I think…. I need to talk to Kaede…

.

.

* * *

Kagome was running as fast as her feet could bring her. She didn't really know where she's going, all she knew is that she has to get away, far, far away from that man, or more correctly half demon.

'That was so close, so damn close!' she thought frantically.

She stopped by a river and let herself fell on her knees.

Without thinking, she plunged her head in the water, only to lift it again few seconds later.

Her breathing was ragged because of all the running. Drops of water trickled down from her drenched raven hair. However, what she's not aware of were the drops of tears that had began to fall from the corner of her eyelids.

"Why did I kiss him..?" She asked to no one in particular.

"I was supposed to hate him… loathe him. Kill him. I shouldn't have any feelings whatsoever for him!" She screamed in pure agony.

_This is useless, you know._

"What? Who are you?"

It was the voice in her head again, but it was different from the evil mocking voices she had always heard earlier.

_You love him. You know you still do. So what's the point of running away and trying to tell yourself that you hate him?_

"No! I despise him!"

_You can't fool yourself, Kagome. You love Inuyasha. Or else, why would you kiss him? Or more importantly, why didn't you kill him back then, when you got the perfect opportunity? Admit it, Kagome…_

"NO! STOP! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Kagome could feel her head was spinning, everything become blurry as her sight becoming darker and darker with each passing moment.

'Inuyasha….' Was her last thought before she finally succumbed to the darkness.

.

.

* * *

A sly smile was formed from the corner of the evil half demon's lips as he watched the event by event displayed by the magical mirror.

"Ah I see…. It seems like our poor little priestess is still torn between her feelings for the half breed and doing what she actually has to. Very well, shall we enlighten the path?

"What are you planning next, now, Naraku?" asked the red eyed wind sorceress.

Naraku smirked. "You'll see later."

.

.

.

* * *

"So it really is young Kagome…." Said Kaede solemnly as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

"I don't understand, Kaede. Why does she become like that? Why does she…"

Inuyasha was about to ask why does Kagome hate him so much, but he didn't dare to bring himself to ask the question to Kaede. Deep inside, he knew part of it was his mistake. Because he couldn't get over Kikyo…

As if she was reading Inuyasha's mind, Kaede sighed heavily.

"I'm afraid that I'm also unclear about the current situation Inuyasha. But one thing I'm sure of. Naraku has somehow play a part in this."

"That bastard Naraku…." Inuyasha growled angrily. "I'm swear, he's going to pay for this!"

The old priestess stared at the half demon in front of her, pondering whether or not she should ask the question.

"Say, Inuyasha." She started carefully.

"What?" Answered Inuyasha, unaware of Kaede's serious and intense gaze on him.

"Do ye care for Kagome?"

Inuyasha blushed.

"What? Of course I do- she's my friend!" He answered frantically.

Kaede shook her head. "That is not what I mean. Do ye care for the young girl? The same way you did to my sister, perhaps?"

The question hit Inuyasha like a ton bricks of wall.

"I-I…" He stammered. "I… To be honest, I don't really know, Kaede…"

Kaede sighed, but nevertheless, she let Inuyasha to continue.

"When I was around her, I felt peace and safe, but worried at the same time. I worried for her safety. That's why…. She gives me a reason to continue to fight even in the…. impossible situations."

The old priestess nodded. "That's all I need to hear, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blushed. He just realized that he had just unintentionally admitted his feelings towards Kagome to Kaede.

"Hey, what do you mean? I-"

"Inuyasha, if ye truly care for her, ye need to forget my sister and let go." Said Kaede wistfully.

The half demon froze. Forgetting Kikyo?

"Think about it. Kagome was hurt because ye continuously seek for my sister. Sure, there were times when she would just letting it off, but don't ye think it's becoming harder and harder for her to keep let go?"

Inuyasha kept silence. He remembered his last encounter with Kagura and that creepy baby. They were trying to corrupt Kagome at that time… And he couldn't help but to feel that nagging feeling inside of him. Deep inside, he knew that part of it was his fault- because he couldn't get over Kikyo. But to truly forget Kikyo… Will he ever be able to do it?

"Inuyasha… My sister had long dead. And even she had been brought back to life; we all know she was not the Kikyo we used to know. She's the past, Inuyasha… we must move on with our life. And now that she had returned to the other world, we should only wish for her soul to be finally at peace…" said Kaede with a solemn expression

Inuyasha could only bowed his head, his bangs covering his face. After a while, he finally said. "I understand."

He stood up and made his way out of the hut.

"Oh, and Inuyasha?"

Still with his back facing the old priestess, Inuyasha stopped in front of the door.

"I can only give ye advice, Inuyasha… The rest is up to ye. But I believe ye would know what is best to do."

The half demon sighed. "I know… Thank you."

And with that, he rose from his seating. "I'm going to find Miroku and Sango."

Kaede nodded.

Inuyasha then made his way out of the hut, feeling better that he at least had talked to someone. However, he didn't go to find Miroku or Sango like he had announced before, instead, he walked straight forward to Kikyo's old grave.

'Kikyo,' he thought as he stared at the grave in front of him. 'I never wanted to break my promise to you. I promised you before, that I will protect you forever. So you don't have to suffer anymore….'

He closed his eyes andighed. 'But right now, I have someone else whom I should protect as well. So, please. Wherever you are, whether you really had gone or still alive, please, please forgive me…'

"Inuyasha…."

Inuyasha's eyes snapped opened as he checked his surroundings abruptly.

"Kikyo?" he asked aloud.

'I must be hallucinating. I'm starting to hearing things!' he thought to himself.

"Inuyasha." This time the voice was much clearer; that mellow voice that held so much sadness….

As if on cue, the smell of bellflower and herbs began to hit his nose. Inuyasha froze.

"This scent, I can't be mistaken… It's really Kikyo! But, why? How…?"

He clenched his fist. 'I…. No. This time, I will REALLY make sure. Just this last time… Otherwise, I won't be able to properly move on and forever live in my guilt!'

With that in his mind, he quickly tracked the scent.

.

.

.

* * *

"Uh…." Moaned the raven haired girl. She checked her surroundings. 'How long have I been here?' she asked to herself.

'That's right. I passed out.'

Flashbacks of the latest events began to replay in her mind.

'I met Inuyasha and almost killed him…'

She chuckled a bit. "Inuyasha must've hate me by now. Sad isn't it? I was supposed to be the one who hate him…"

'I don't care, he could loathe me for all I care.'

'But why does it hurt so much?'

_Because you care for him. You still do, Kagome._

It was that stupid voice inside her head again. But this time, she decided to hear it.

'No. I'm-'

_Remember everything he had done for you? How many times had he sacrifice very own life in order to save yours? Remember that he even shed tears for you? _

'He probably just doing that because I'm his jewel detector.'

_No he didn't. And you know that. You're just too stubborn to admit it._

Kagome smiled sadly. 'True, Inuyasha saved me multiple times. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be long dead. But yet… '

_But yet what? You know… Maybe you should really stop with this whole insecurities, and do what your heart really desire._

'What my heart really desire?'

Kagome bit her lips. Deep inside, she knew she wanted to see Inuyasha one more time, but she was afraid. She was afraid of any more hurt. Her heart was so fragile right now that she didn't think she could handle anymore heartbreaks…

'Will seeing him again be the best choice for me?' she thought to herself.

.

.

.

* * *

Inuyasha was shocked. Very shocked. Kikyo's scent stopped at the Goshinoboku tree…

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked to no one in particular.

He stared at the sacred tree, pondering his fate that seemed to be sealed with it.

"Who would've known that a damn tree would play a damn big role in screwing my life."

Well. Not exactly 'screwing', though. This tree, this spot, is where he departed with his first love fifty years ago. Where the two 'betrayed' each other, resulting in one met her ultimate demise and the other being put in a supposedly eternal slumber. But then again, it was also the very same tree where he first met Kagome.

Inuyasha sighed, and reached to touch the Goshinoboku.

Strange, for some reason, he felt somehow content and peace….

"Inuyasha…" It's Kikyo's voice again! This time it was really clear… She's really here, he was sure of it.

"Kikyo!" He turned around abruptly, his eyes quickly scanned around.

"What happened to you Inuyasha? I thought you would never let someone get behind your back."

Inuyasha and turned around. "Kikyo…."

The long haired woman smiled. "Hello, Inuyasha…"

"I-" Inuyasha suddenly remained speechless. He didn't know what he should say to the priestess. Yes, he followed her here…. But he wasn't actually prepared to see her.

"So… You're…. alive." That's all he managed to say at last.

"Inuyasha. I'm glad you come to find me…. At least, I know there is still someone who cares for me." Said Kikyo, whispering the last part softly.

However, it didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha.

"What are you saying, Kikyo? Don't you remember that I said I would always protect you? I intend to keep that promise!" retorted Inuyasha heatedly.

Instead of answering back, the priestess turned around so that Inuyasha was facing her back.

She took a deep breath. "Inuyasha. Do you still love me?"

"Wh-what?"

Inuyasha was so taken aback. It was such a simple question, yet he could almost hear his heart beat at an irregular rhythm.

"I….. Kikyo…I-"

"I see." cut Kikyo.

Still with her back facing Inuyasha, Kikyo let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I think I shouldn't even ask this question. After all, who am I to ask? I'm just one of the undead… One that shouldn't even wonder in this world of the living… I have no place to begin with…."

"No, Kikyo, you-" Inuyasha tried to answer back.

"But," Said Kikyo finally, turning around to face the half demon.

Inuyasha gasped at the sight. He had never seen Kikyo looked so… Down, broken, vulnerable, and… hurtful..? He couldn't help but to feel his heart ached.

"But Inuyasha, can I…. Can I at least wish that I still held a place inside your heart? Just a tiny… little space."

Inuyasha didn't know what happen to him. It seemed like all he wanted to do now is to run to her.

And so he did.

"Kikyo!" He crushed her in a bone-crushing hug. But the woman in his arms remained still.

"Don't say things like that…. I promise. I will destroy Naraku. So that… you can live in peace…"

"Inuyasha." Called Kikyo softly.

"Yes?" the half demon answered back as he broke the embrace.

"Will you… Kiss me?"

Something in Kikyo's request stirred an indescribable feeling inside Inuyasha that made him feel compelled to grant that wish.

So without anymore thinking, he closed his eyes as he placed his lips upon hers.

However, what he wasn't aware of is a pair of two hazelnut orbs that were full of tears and betrayal, watching the whole scenes played in front of her.

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: That's it for chapter 10! See you later! :)


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